Christmas Events for Kids in Charlestown (2026)

Christmas Events for Kids
Written by Kelsey Cecil

Updated 4 min read

Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in Charlestown for 2026, and here is what he found: 2 family events. They are Charlestown Paints Christmas Ornament Paint Party (November 15) and Christmas Playtime Art at Charlestown Library (December 21). We check every date on the host’s own website, and each listing links straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Indiana Christmas events for kids guide.

What Rally found in Charlestown

  • 2 Christmas events for kids in Charlestown
  • Season: November 15 (Charlestown Paints Christmas Ornament Paint Party) to December 21 (Christmas Playtime Art at Charlestown Library)
  • Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10

Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Charlestown

Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.

Holiday crafts

Charlestown Paints Christmas Ornament Paint Party

Expand to see the parent tip

The Charlestown Parks Department hosts this guided painting session where each person decorates a Christmas ornament to take home. Ericka of Red Headed Princess Designs leads the group step by step, and the sign-up form says no painting experience is needed. Supplies, drinks and snacks are all part of the fee.

The party is on Sunday, November 15, 2026, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Arts & Enrichment Center, 999 Water Street. It costs $35 per person and is open to ages 5 and up. You register and pay through the online form, which allows up to 10 painters per email and caps the session at 40 painters.

Parent tip: With only 40 spots and up to 10 allowed per sign-up, a few large families could fill the room, so register early. The session runs 90 minutes, which is a long sit for a five-year-old, so plan to paint alongside younger kids.

Host
Charlestown Parks Department (opens in a new tab)
Address
Arts & Enrichment Center, 999 Water St, Charlestown, IN 47111 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Charlestown Parks Department (opens in a new tab)

New Charlestown events every week

Rally researches Christmas events in Charlestown daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Charlestown.

Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)

Rally’s Christmas research

Rally the corgi has 1 more Charlestown event researched for you.

  • New events every week We research new events daily and send you one email a week with the new ones we find in Charlestown.
  • Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Charlestown before they fill up.
  • Unlock the filters Find Santa visits, free events and weekend plans in one tap.
  • Rally’s Christmas Eve Express and a free advent calendar Get early access to Rally the corgi’s Christmas Eve tracker, plus a free digital advent calendar to count down to Christmas.
  • One-tap add to calendar Save any event to your Google, Apple or Outlook calendar so you never miss it.

Coming up on this page

  • 2 Crafts

Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Charlestown every week.

Free. One email a week with new events in Charlestown. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy

Holiday crafts

Christmas Playtime Art at Charlestown Library

Expand to see the parent tip

The Arts Alliance of Southern Indiana comes to the Charlestown Library to help families make a Christmas ornament together. It is a hands-on craft hour in the library's meeting room, set just four days before Christmas. Every child needs a grown-up with them.

It runs on Monday, December 21, 2026, from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Charlestown Meeting Room at the Charlestown Library. The library's calendar says registration opens at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 1, 2026. The page does not list a price.

Parent tip: Registration does not open until 9 a.m. on December 1, so set a reminder and sign up that morning. Because adults must stay with their children, plan for a grown-up to be at the table for the full hour.

Host
Charlestown Clark County Public Library (opens in a new tab)
Address
Charlestown Library, Charlestown Meeting Room, 51 Clark Rd, Charlestown, IN 47111 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Charlestown Clark County Public Library (opens in a new tab)

New Charlestown events every week

Rally researches Christmas events in Charlestown daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Charlestown.

Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)

We check every event above on the host’s own page for the date, time and cost, plus the things parents ask about, like sign-ups and ages. Looking for a Santa train instead? Those are on our Indiana Christmas train rides page.

See every event on a December calendar

Plan your December

When each Charlestown Christmas event for kids happens

The first is Charlestown Paints Christmas Ornament Paint Party in Charlestown on November 15; the last runs to December 21. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.

Looking further afield? Our Indiana Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Clarksville, IN, New Albany, IN, Greensburg and Bloomington. The national search sorts every event by distance from your town.

A story for the drive home

A morning with Santa or an evening of holiday stories tends to end the same way: tired kids, a long drive and one more book before bed. Our picture book follows Rally the corgi on his first train ride to see his grand-paw-rents, and every page is painted by hand. If your family is spending December missing someone, it was written for that too. For the car, print our free corgi and train coloring pages.

Rally Takes the Train book cover: a watercolor corgi peeking from a red train

A bedtime story after seeing SantaRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi’s first ride on a California train, hand-painted in watercolor. $16.99 on Amazon, ages 0 to 8.

Buy on Amazon (opens in a new tab)

2026 Christmas events are coming in late November

More Christmas events arrive in late November. We add them here as soon as we confirm them.

The story of Christmas in Charlestown

Charlestown was laid out in 1808 on 300 acres, with 3 of those acres set aside for a town square, and it takes its name from Charles Beggs, one of the men who surveyed it. Today the Christmas season here is a hands-on one, with families gathering to make ornaments at the Arts & Enrichment Center and the public library.

How Charlestown celebrates

Christmas in Charlestown, as the organizers' pages show it this year, centers on making things together. The Charlestown Parks Department hosts the Charlestown Paints Christmas Ornament Paint Party at the Arts & Enrichment Center on Water Street, led by Ericka from Red Headed Princess Designs, with supplies, drinks and snacks included. A few days before Christmas, the Arts Alliance of Southern Indiana visits the Charlestown Library, a branch of the Charlestown-Clark County Public Library, for Christmas Playtime Art, where children and their adults make an ornament in the library's meeting room.

Fun facts about Christmas in Charlestown

Charlestown was established in 1808 and named after Charles Beggs, one of its surveyors. It served as the county seat of Clark County from 1811 until 1878, when the seat went to Jeffersonville. In 1940 the town had about 900 people, and the building of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant pushed that number to 13,400. At the 2020 census the population was 7,775.

Traditions today

  • Charlestown Paints Christmas Ornament Paint Party: The Charlestown Parks Department gathers up to 40 painters at the Arts & Enrichment Center to decorate Christmas ornaments with a paint guide.
  • Christmas Playtime Art at the library: The Arts Alliance of Southern Indiana leads families in making a Christmas ornament in the Charlestown Library's meeting room.
  • The town square: When Charlestown was platted in 1808, 3 of its 300 acres were designated for a town square, which gives the center of the city its shape.
  • The Charlestown Library: The city's public library is a branch of the Charlestown-Clark County Public Library and hosts children's holiday craft programs in its meeting room.

A fact for kids

In 1814 a man named John Work built a mill near Charlestown that used a tunnel. That mill is now part of the Tunnel Mill Scout Reservation.

Questions about Christmas in Charlestown

When was Charlestown, Indiana founded?

Charlestown was established in 1808, when Indiana was still a territory. It was laid out on 300 acres, with 3 acres designated for a town square, about one mile northeast of an earlier settlement called Springville.

How did Charlestown get its name?

The city is named after Charles Beggs, one of the surveyors who laid out the town in 1808. The plan he helped draw covered 300 acres and set aside 3 of them for a town square at the center.

Was Charlestown ever the county seat?

Yes. Charlestown was the county seat of Clark County from 1811 to 1878. By then Jeffersonville had passed it economically, and the county seat went to Jeffersonville in 1878. Charlestown remains a city within Charlestown and Utica Townships in Clark County.

How many people live in Charlestown?

The 2020 census counted 7,775 residents. The number has swung widely over time: in 1940 the town had about 900 people, and it grew to 13,400 when the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant was built and began operating nearby.

What happens at Christmas in Charlestown for kids?

This season's listings are both craft events. The Charlestown Paints Christmas Ornament Paint Party is on November 15, 2026, at the Arts & Enrichment Center, and Christmas Playtime Art is on December 21, 2026, at the Charlestown Library. Children make an ornament at each one.

Who organizes Christmas events in Charlestown?

The Charlestown Parks Department hosts the ornament paint party, with Ericka from Red Headed Princess Designs as the paint guide. The Charlestown Library hosts Christmas Playtime Art, which is led by the Arts Alliance of Southern Indiana. Each organizer handles its own sign-up.

Where do Charlestown's Christmas events take place?

The paint party is held at the Arts & Enrichment Center at 999 Water Street. Christmas Playtime Art meets in the Charlestown Meeting Room at the Charlestown Library, which is a branch of the Charlestown-Clark County Public Library.

Are Charlestown's Christmas events free?

The ornament paint party costs $35 per person, and that fee covers all supplies along with drinks and snacks. The library's page for Christmas Playtime Art does not list a price, and it asks families to register starting December 1, 2026.

What is Tunnel Mill near Charlestown?

Milling mattered in early Charlestown. The first mill in the area was built on Fourteen Mile Creek in 1804. In 1814 John Work built a mill that made use of a tunnel, and that mill is now part of the Tunnel Mill Scout Reservation.

Sources

  1. Charlestown, Indiana, Wikipedia
  2. Charlestown Paints Christmas Ornament registration form, Charlestown Parks Department
  3. Christmas Playtime Art @ Charlestown, Charlestown Clark County Library

Keep the Christmas magic going: track Rally the corgi on Christmas Eve, print free Christmas coloring pages, learn how to say Merry Christmas in 100+ languages, find train museums to visit with kids, or browse Christmas events in every Indiana city.

Charlestown Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask

What are the best Christmas events for kids in Charlestown to start with?

Start with the two ornament-making sessions. The Charlestown Paints Christmas Ornament Paint Party is on Sunday, November 15, 2026, at the Arts & Enrichment Center, and Christmas Playtime Art is on Monday, December 21, 2026, at the Charlestown Library. Both send children home with an ornament they made themselves.

Are there free Christmas events for kids in Charlestown?

The library's page for Christmas Playtime Art on December 21, 2026, does not list any price, though it does not use the word free either. The Charlestown Parks Department's ornament paint party on November 15 costs $35 per person, which covers supplies, drinks and snacks.

Where can kids meet Santa in Charlestown?

Neither of the Charlestown events listed here includes a Santa visit. Both are craft sessions: the ornament paint party on November 15, 2026, and Christmas Playtime Art at the library on December 21, 2026. Check back as more organizers post their holiday plans for the season.

Which Charlestown Christmas events need sign-up?

Both do. The ornament paint party on November 15, 2026, takes registration and payment through an online form and is capped at 40 painters. Christmas Playtime Art at the Charlestown Library on December 21 opens registration at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 1, 2026.

What ages are the Charlestown Christmas craft events for?

The Charlestown Paints ornament party on November 15, 2026, is open to ages 5 and up, adults included. Christmas Playtime Art on December 21 is listed for children on the library calendar, and every child must come with an adult.

Where are Christmas events for kids held in Charlestown?

The November 15, 2026, paint party meets at the Arts & Enrichment Center at 999 Water Street. Christmas Playtime Art on December 21 takes place in the Charlestown Meeting Room at the Charlestown Library. Both are indoor, sit-down activities, so weather is not a worry.

Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Charlestown?

Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Indiana Christmas train rides guide. This Charlestown guide covers Santa visits, story times, light shows and other events off the rails.

How do you confirm these events?

We list an event only after we find this season’s date on the host’s own website or an official city or tourism calendar. We last checked every listing on November 10, 2026. Hosts change details, so always confirm on the host’s page before you go.

Event names belong to their hosts. Rally Takes the Train is a family picture book and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any host listed here. Confirm dates, times and prices on each host’s own site before you go.

Kelsey Cecil
Previous

Christmas Events for Kids in Chantilly (2026)
Next

Christmas Events for Kids in Centreville (2026)